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Friday, July 24, 2015

Grandma Camping 2015 - Part 5 - Night Owls!

Yes, conflicts arise!
Grandma sets out seeking nighttime nature treasures. The kids see Ninja Turtles in the sewer. But who am I to argue that? Just a few hours ago, I told them there were zombies hiding behind my garage!

When you're at home with mommy and daddy, you can pretty much plan on being snuggled in bed when the mysterious aura of darkness falls. They say that's where kids belong - seen; cute little heads atop pillows - not heard; scampering about mischievously outdoors! But when we're with grandma? Soooo not so! Creeping about in the dark, looking for "discoveries?" Hiking the neighborhood, gaping at stars? Peering in from edge-of-the-woods spookiness? It's simply our "thing," - it's what we do! And we do it well, with a conspiratorial anticipation that bonds grandma and campers firmly together, flashlights in hand, ready and waiting to go!

Here's when books on night flying animals - moths, bats, owls, fireflies - come in handy. We get ready as dusk falls, putting heads together over pages of nature books. Ones on constellations, too. It's nice to know in advance what's likely to be found out there! Detailed "compare and contrast/night and day" discussions are fun to anticipate, but they don't always happen. The kids just flitter from one worthy biological observation to the next cable box or sewer, pleasing themselves with the same joy of being alive after dark that fellow nocturnal wild creatures do!

We have late night fun inside, too. Lots of cool things glow in the dark at Dollar Tree - necklaces, floating pool balls.....

One rainy night, each camper gathered candy and glow balls, hidden ahead by grandpa. But the best self-made fun followed. An "otherworldly" campfire was constructed to cluster about and enjoy in a room otherwise cloaked in eerie darkness!

When we tired of that, it was time to dance! We jumped and gyrated to the techno "Everybody Dance Now" by C+C Music Factory, grandma center stage, grateful to be the only one in control of a camera!

I'm grateful, too, for the tip on Dollar Tree's (seasonal) battery operated, multi-color glowing pool globes from creative blogger friend, Lisa, at "Hoopla Palooza." Here's what she does with them!

Books with sections on after dark nature fun are listed here at the end of a previous Grandma Camping post.

14 comments:

Hello J, I can just picture you and your grands running around the neighborhood after dark looking for their treasures. The glow in the dark necklaces are cool. What fun! Enjoy your day and the weekend ahead!

What fun memories - the kiddos will remember them forever and ever. I love the light up things from the dollar store too. For the 4th we got the boys some thick wands with blue backgrounds and stars - and they lit up. They became magic wands and they made the adults invisible - and then they all three "sneaked" about and got candy off the table - then they made us visible and rewarded us with chocolates - and of course the magicians needed a reward so they gave themselves one too. Then they gave each person one marshmallow - not sure why just one - but it was their party.

YAHOO! once again, look at all the fun you made! i'm so happy you got the glow balls and used them for such a fun activity too! you know my kids are only 12 and 16 but i'm taking notes on all your awesome creativity and hoping i'll be half as good as a grandmother as you! :>D!

Fun ideas for grandparents and grandkids. My grandsons and I rarely get to camp out in the living room forts anymore (partly due to their getting older - drat, I keep telling them to slow down at growing up but you know how THAT goes :) ) but I'll save these great ideas in case another chance pops up. Have a blessed week!

Our family has fun with these glow in the dark items as well. One year while camping we had a glow in the dark ball and played boucce in the dark. We all wore glow rings so you could see us. Talk about fun! You, my friend are a fabulous grammy! Thanks for sharing with SYC.hugs,Jann